Kent Libraries

Baby Playground Music designed to extend and support Baby Playground sessions and the Baby Playground book. Music by Jeremy Harrison. Illustrations by Nicola Flower. Playground is a Kent Libraries initiative, funded by Arts Council England and delivered in partnership with the University of Kent and an ensemble of brilliant artists, academics and other professionals. Our focus has been on children...

Baby Playground Music designed to extend and support Baby Playground sessions and the Baby Playground book. Music by Jeremy Harrison. Illustrations by Nicola Flower. Playground is a Kent Libraries initiative, funded by Arts Council England and delivered in partnership with the University of Kent and an ensemble of brilliant artists, academics and other professionals. Our focus has been on children...

Baby Playground Music designed to extend and support Baby Playground sessions and the Baby Playground book. Music by Jeremy Harrison. Illustrations by Nicola Flower. Playground is a Kent Libraries initiative, funded by Arts Council England and delivered in partnership with the University of Kent and an ensemble of brilliant artists, academics and other professionals. Our focus has been on children...

Find out more about Playground – an exciting programme empowering the creativity of very young children and their families. Led by a team of brilliant artists, families with babies and young children are sharing creative play in libraries and children's centres across Kent. Find a session near you at kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/clubs-and-activities-in-libraries/baby-and-toddler-act...

Dr John Bulaitis, Canterbury Christ Church University, sheds light on an often forgotten but fascinating piece of Kentish history dubbed the Tithe War by the national press. During the 1880s and again during the 1930s, Kentish farming communities fought the tithe, a payment to the Church and other tithe owners dating back to medieval times. They confronted bailiffs, disrupted auctions and blockade...

Listen to an extract of Life of Pi. Listen now with BorrowBox’s latest feature – the best titles without the queues. Head to our website to find out how to borrow this title for free via the BorrowBox app! https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/ebooks-eaudiobooks-emagazines-enewspapers

Dr Claire Carrothers, Queen Mary University of London visited Kent Archives to give a brilliant talk on Murder, Madness and Miracles: The Shrine of Thomas Becket and its Mad Pilgrims in Twelfth-Century Canterbury. From giddiness and demonic possession, to visions of the Thomas Becket flying around the cathedral dolling out cures, Claire takes us through Canterbury's 12th Century fascinating miracl...

The Kentish motto, invicta, is a Latin word meaning undefeated or unconquered. But is Kent truly the unconquered county? James Lloyd gained a Cambridge doctorate for research into local government in Anglo-Saxon England. This talk was recorded in April 2022 and a transcript can be found at https://bit.ly/3ysOlll Kent Archives hold the largest collection of historic material relating to the ancient...

Lynsey from Folkestone Libraries talks to Academy FM Folkestone about their new Playground sessions, and the reopening of Cheriton Library after it's fabulous refurbishment, with a teaser involving the artist Richie Moment (royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/richie-moment)! Find our more about your local library at kent.gov.uk/libraries and follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/FolkestoneLibraries...

Fiona from Kent Libraries, Registration and Archives chats to Maidstone Radio about the return of activities and events including our exciting upcoming exhibition 'Breaking the News' in collaboration with The British Library in Maidstone. Find out more about 'Breaking the News' and book onto our FREE events at https://bit.ly/BreakingTheNewsKent

Liz Finn and Ellie Thomas from Kent Libraries and Archives talk about the film Mädchen in Uniform (1931). Written and co-directed by women, and featuring an all-female cast, Mädchen in Uniform carries the honour of showing the first, female gaze, lesbian kiss in a feature film. To celebrate the director Leontine Sagan's birthday and for this year's LGBT+ History Month with its theme of Politics in...

More than 740,000 British servicemen were killed or died in the First World War. The poignant story of the Orchard family from Folkestone illustrates the human cost of the war and how archives can help us bring these personal stories to light. Liz Finn is an archivist with the Kent Archives Service, based at the Kent History and Library Centre. She currently combines her post of Community History...

Fiona from Kent Libraries, Registration and Archives chats to Maidstone Radio about the return of activities and events including our exciting upcoming exhibition 'Breaking the News' in collaboration with The British Library in Maidstone, plus the launch of Kent's Business and IP Centre, the 10 year anniversary of the Kent History and Library Centre and more! Find out more about 'Breaking the News...

Ypres: transforming a Belgian city into an outpost of the British Empire, 1919-1939. As soon as the war ended, visitors began to arrive. Some wanted to find out where loved ones had fought and died while others wanted to see something of the reality of the battlefields for themselves... Mark Connelly is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Kent. He works closely with the Common...

Dr Claire Bartram examines famous and not-so-famous writers, readers and bibliophiles living in Kent and considers the social circumstances that underpins what Peter Laslett famously termed the ‘bookish’ reputation of the Kentish in Tudor times. Claire Bartram teaches early modern literature at Canterbury Christ Church University and is especially interested in writers and readers living in Kent i...

The White Horse is the ubiquitous symbol of the county of Kent but what exactly does it mean and for how long has it been used? James Lloyd gained a Cambridge doctorate for research into local government in Anglo-Saxon England. He currently combines roles as an archivist at the Kent History and Library Centre and Librarian at Aylesford Priory. This talk was recorded in October 2019 and a transcrip...

Mark Bateson from Kent Archives reads to us a letter from the collection, the Osbourne Deeds. He talks us through the changes and resistance to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, which caused a loss of 11 days in September, raising concerns around where the "real Christmas day" should fall... Visit https://kentarchives.org.uk to find out more about our collections. The Stations of...

Ellie from Kent Libraries meets with Emily Ghassempour, co-founder of Books for Change and one of this year's judges for The Diverse Book Awards which were announced last week. They talk about her work campaigning, running anti-racist workshops and fundraising to provide diverse books to pupils in local schools in Kent, her role as a judge for the children's book list of The Diverse Book Awards. B...

In case you missed it, here's Fiona from Kent Libraries who was on Maidstone Radio to tell them about Libraries Week, our new Business and IP Centre Kent as well as all of the events and activities returning to our libraries. Although this year's Libraries Week has come to an end you can find out more about the celebration at bit.ly/LibrariesWeek2021 You can also find all of our online features an...

Author Lisa Cutts talks to us about the book that literally changed her life, how her job as a police officer influenced her writing, and her favourite Doctor Who. You can borrow several of Lisa’s novels via our eLibrary and the Libby app for free: https://kent.overdrive.com/search?query=Lisa%20Cutts A full transcript of the interview can be found at: https://bit.ly/lctranscript Check out the full...

Borrow now! The best titles without the wait. Listen to the whole book for free with your library membership at kent.borrowbox.com/product/BOL_2078382/title/the-man-who-died-twice The second instalment in the number one Sunday Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series featuring the old (but far from past-it) team as they pursue a brand new mystery. Borrow, download and enjoy instant eBooks and...

Mr Derek Butler has kindly shared his memories of the Festival of Britain in Canterbury with Mark Bateson, our Assistant Service Manager for Archives and Local History. These recollections are read by Gareth Brown from the Kent Archives Team and a transcript can be found at bit.ly/3xfv6r9 Seventy years ago on 4 May 1951, the nation celebrated The Festival of Britain. The idea of a festival was con...

Author William Shaw talks to us about his writing process, inspirations and his new novel. The Trawlerman, William's latest DS Alexandra Cupidi Crime series novel is now available to reserve from your local Kent library at https://bit.ly/2QdWXrC or borrow the first book in the series via our eLibrary https://kent.overdrive.com/media/4593290 A full transcript of the interview can be found at: https...

Author Mark Stay talks to Simon from Canterbury Libraries about publishing, the importance of creativity and the book that changed his life. Mark's latest book 'The Crow Folk' is available now to borrow from your local Kent library here http://bit.ly/3rfxuLY A full transcript of the interview can be found here: http://bit.ly/380JTfr Check out the full interview on Youtube here: https://www.youtube...

Author Julie Wassmer talks to Simon from Canterbury Libraries about scriptwriting for Eastenders, working at Whitechapel library and overcoming the dreaded blank white page. Julie's classic crime 'Murder on the downs' is available to borrow from your local Kent library here http://bit.ly/3jee9YO along with the other Whitstable Pearl mysteries. A full transcript of the interview can be found here:...